Congressman Steve King doubled down on his defense of Jeff Sessions on Thursday, calling the attorney general "the best cabinet appointment President [Donald] Trump has made."

"It's hard to understand what was going on in the president's head," King said on CNN's "New Day" morning program about President Trump's hyper-critical statements about Sessions in an interview published Wednesday night.

"I just want to send a message to the president of the United States — there in no person in this country better qualified to serve as attorney general. No one can match the excellence of Jeff Sessions. He is the best cabinet appointment President Trump has made," the Iowa Republican told CNN.

"Whether he made a mistake or not in recusing himself from the Russian investigation component, he made that decision out of the sense of, I will say in a sense of nobility and honor," King told CNN.

"So I would let that go and let's build on what we have. I want Jeff Sessions to keep serving this country and I’m concerned he might come up with some different decision, and that would be handing a victory over to the left," King said.